“Hi Inova!” Sunflower said with all her usual cheer when I got back to school.
“Hey,” I flatly responded.
Her normal smile dropped. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing you can help with.” I brushed past her and continued trudging on through the halls to my first class.
Right after I left math, Sunflower was waiting for me in the hallway, and she had Girder with her. “Girder, give her a hug!”
I looked at the big muscular colt and waited. He didn’t move. “Well?” I impatiently asked.
“I’ve seen that dead look before,” Girder said. “A hug won’t help here.” He left to go to his next class, and I did the same.
“Well well well, looks like Inova’s become the Princess of Depression,” Nightshade taunted as I walked past her and her herd. “What’s the matter? Did you get kicked out of your little club?”
I stopped and leveled a glare at her. “I’m not in the mood to deal with you, Nightshade. Don’t give me a reason to test my magic.”
“Well then. Cherry? I’ll let you have some fun with Inova.”
Cherry, the strongest earth filly in Nightshade’s little herd, stepped in front of me. “Come on, all you have to do is walk around me.”
I was familiar with the game she was playing, and I had no patience for it. I walked up to her so we were face to face and eye to eye. “If you don’t move, I will walk over you.”
“What kind of threat is that? You don’t have the height or the flight for that.”
“It’s a statement.” With the telekinesis I could use, I grabbed her muzzle and rapidly pulled down and sideways, throwing her off balance enough for me to land a light hoof strike to her elbow and make her flop like me using my wings. With her down and on the ground, I stepped on and over her, just as I’d stated. “Take this, Nightshade.” I put a rear hoof on the side of her body and kicked backwards, sending her sliding back to Nightshade and her herd. “I’m done.” I walked off to my next class.
While I was in the lunch line, one of the teachers found me. “Inova, the Principal wants you in his office. You can get your lunch first.”
“I’ll go see him.” I left the line and made my way to Principal Gilded Hall’s office. My mind was in such a chaotic state that I felt none of the usual trepidation somepony else would feel from being summoned there, and I barely even noticed that I was hungry.
The pegasus stallion was waiting for me. “Inova, you’ve been acting very odd today. You’ve-”
“Are you going to put me in detention or send me home?” I interrupted, asking like I was offering the choice instead of him.
He recovered quickly from my sudden question. “Well. . . That, or ask you to go to the counselors. Something’s gnawing at you, and if it continues, things will only get worse for you, and I’m not talking about your grades.”
“So which is it? Counselors, detention, or home?”
He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “If it’s something that’s official Princess business not meant for the public, then going home to talk with your parents about it would be the best choice.”
“Then I’ll go home. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I turned around and left to go home. I didn’t even care that I was skipping lunch.
My bed soon became my home inside of home. Ever since I first cast the splitting spell and found the human in me, I couldn't put my mind to rest. Despite being surrounded by my family and my visiting friends, I felt incredibly alone, and it scared me. As much as I wanted to talk it out with my friends, and despite their offers, I didn’t feel like they could help, so I didn’t bother trying. Aunt Twilight said she knew what it was like to be human, but I didn't believe her. Even with things like magic, Pinkie Pie, and Discord, I had trouble believing that.
"I need to talk it out, but there's nopony that can understand. Nopony but me. . . Maybe I can do that." I cast the splitting spell.
Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Inovas all appeared standing on the floor while Human Inova remained in bed, quick to move to a sitting position and wrap herself up in the double eagle blanket. "So, let's talk things out and figure out what's going on,” Human Inova said. “What’s first?”
Unicorn Inova answered first, and she was aggressive. "I'll tell you what's going on: you've been holding back my spellcasting abilities. You can't guide magic the right way, so you've kept me from advancing to the more complex spells."
Human Inova recoiled at the words. "But. . . We were able to cast the splitting spell just fine."
"Because I wanted to split off once it started. So did Pegasus and Earth, Human. It’s magic, so I’m not going to explain any further. You wouldn’t understand."
Pegasus Inova began hovering in place with ease. "Ah, to be free of the ground. I always wondered what was holding me down, and now I'm free at last! No more flopping forward!"
Earth Inova was bouncing around on her hooves. "And I can really move around now! This is awesome!"
Human Inova's lips began to tremble. "But. . . Can't we work this out, me? I want to help."
"After being klutzy for so long? Nope! I'm going to go run around and do some parkour!" Earth Inova opened the door and left to go do that.
"I'm going to go for a long flight," Pegasus Inova said before flying through the open doorway.
"And I'm going to go test out some spells," Unicorn Inova said before leaving and forcefully slamming the door behind her with extreme prejudice, excessive force, and extra speed.
Human Inova reached out towards the door and its very cracked frame. "But. . . I just wanted to talk. . . And figure out what to do. . ." Her arm flopped back down onto the bed and she pulled her blanket cocoon tighter around her. The cold treatment and cool air left her shivering where she sat.
Cadence quietly watched from the living room as three young mares with Inova's colors zipped out of her house, either not noticing or not caring that she was there. After the front door was slammed shut, silence reigned for what felt like some very long minutes. Then, there was the sound of crying. It was inequine, but her motherly instincts demanded she investigate.
She found the door the crying was coming from, the frame cracked and fractured from the force of the first slam she'd heard. A single gentle knock was all it took to make the door, the frame, and some of the wall collapse into the room and make the crying stop with a gasp. On the bed was a curled up blanket, and at the head of the bed was some black hair with light blue lines in it framing a pale face. Cadence walked closer until she could see the terrified blue eyes looking up at her. She softly said, "It's okay, Inova. Mom's here."
Human Inova's voice was shaky. "I. . . I just wanted to talk it out with myself. . . Why were my pony parts so mean?"
Cadence had no answer for that and just pulled Human Inova, blanket cocoon and all, into a hug with her forelegs and wings. "We can find out when they come back. Your dad's going to rally the crystal guard to keep an eye on them and, if needed, subdue and capture them."
"But. . . I'm the reason they couldn't do all the normal pony stuff as an alicorn. They hate me." Human Inova couldn't fully hold back the emotions and some sobs escaped her as tears started welling up in her eyes again.
"It's okay. Just give me a hug and cry it out."
Human Inova was quiet for a bit. "Can you keep the blanket around my body? I don't want it gone."
"Of course." Cadence, with some gentle telekinesis, adjusted the blanket to let Human Inova's arms out before making it snug again. "Go ahead."
Human Inova wrapped her arms around Cadence as best she could, then all her years of pent up sorrow, fear, frustration, and pain, both physical and emotional, came out in a flood. She cried into the soft pink fur of her mother's neck, staining her with a torrent of tears. She cried like she'd never cried before, and Cadence hummed a gentle tune all the while.
A few hours later, Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Inova were brought back to the house. Unicorn had a magic inhibition ring on her horn, though it didn't seem like it was needed with how worn out she was. Pegasus's wings were clamped down on her sides and she looked like she'd had more than a few crashes with numerous stands, buildings, and trees. Earth, meanwhile, was struggling against the enchanted block of crystal her legs were stuck in. All of them were chained together by iron collars on their necks.
Off to the side sat Skyla, Diamond Heart, and Lucky Spotter. Skyla and Diamond had helped in the capture efforts, while Lucky was there to write down what happened, per Shining's request after a lucky encounter. After all the chaos, the Empire’s subjects deserved to know what happened and what was being done about it.
A tired Shining Armor glared at the collared captives. "I don't think I need to explain how disappointed I am with all three of you."
"Let me out of this thing!" Earth Inova shouted.
Shining made the crystal block grow up her legs one inch further. "No. You've been running all over the Empire, leaving deep cracks in paths, walls, and roofs. You broke through multiple shields of mine and ran through a formation of guards, injuring three in the process before we managed to catch you." He turned to Pegasus Inova. "You've been flying all over the Empire at high speeds, disrupting air and hoof traffic. You also crashed into walls with enough force to leave shallow cracks, you broke multiple tree branches, and you demolished a number of carts and stalls. You still have bits of cabbage on you."
"Flying was fun," Pegasus Inova answered, seeming overly content and unconcerned.
He turned to Unicorn Inova. "You may have caused the least damage, but your spelling spree scared most of the Empire. The evil laughter echoing across the crystal fields did not help either."
"I just wanted to weave baskets in the fields!" Unicorn Inova objected.
"You don't need purple lightning arcing between the crystals to weave baskets," Skyla retorted, her mane, tail, and wings still a bit messy and lightly scorched from a run in with some of it. "And the laughing black flames were just overkill."
"Well. . . I guess you're right." Unicorn Inova looked down in defeat.
"And don't get me started on how all three of you treated Human Inova!” Shining exclaimed, catching the attention of all three Inova parts before they looked away in shame. “She's just as much a part of your alicorn form as you are, and she just wanted to figure out how to work better with you. If anything, she seems to be the smart one out of the four of you."
Lucky raised a forehoof. "Where is this Human Inova, anyways? This is a big story."
Shining aggressively sighed at the reminder. "She's currently asleep and clinging to Cadence. According to her, Human Inova is scared, confused, and feels incredibly lost. If you want to try and talk with either of them, you can ask after this."
"Of course. Carry on."
Shining went back to the troublemakers. "You three are going to be punished with public service and reparations for the damage you did and the panic you caused. No, you will not be allowed to reunite for that, since you'll only prolong the punishments and our subjects don't have the time for that. In addition, that would also cause Human Inova, and thus the alicorn whole, even more anguish.”
Pegasus Inova raised a foreleg. "Does that mean we're going to be out of school?"
"You're going to wish you were there instead of what you're going to be doing." His words came across as a statement of fact instead of a threat. "You're all going to apologize directly to those you've scared and hurt, you're going to let them humiliate you, and you're going to fix everything that you can fix."
Diamond raised a forehoof. "Objection, Your Highness!"
Shining turned to her. "Go ahead."
"Please don't put them through humiliation. When they reunite, that will come down on the one hurting the most, and it'll be impossible for Inova to do anything. The public service and reparations are humiliating enough."
"Hmm. . . Objection sustained. You make a good point. Thank you, Diamond." Shining laid down his verdict. "You three will spend the night in the castle dungeon while the damages are assessed, and you will start working on them first thing in the morning. You will continue wearing restraints and spending the nights in the dungeon until the punishments are done, then you will talk things out with each other and Human, then reunite. Understood?"
"Yes, dad," all three meekly said.
"Good." Shining's horn briefly flashed as he sent a message to his guards to come and get the troublemakers before walking up to Lucky. "Do you have any further questions?"
"Not on these three," Lucky said. "I'd like to see Human Inova, though."
"I'll see if she'll open up to me," Diamond said before leading Lucky further into the house.
Cadence saw Diamond and Lucky arrive through the broken doorway. "Thank goodness you're here. Diamond, can you take Human Inova for a moment? I really need to use the bathroom."
"Uh, okay?" Diamond slid into Cadence's place and the alicorn dashed out into the hallway and to the bathroom there, apparently forgetting about the one connected to Inova’s room.
Human Inova opened her eyes a moment later. "Diamond?"
"Inova?"
"Hey. So. . . Why are you here?" Despite the amount of time Human Inova had been asleep, she still sounded exhausted and tired.
"I had to help pin down your pegasus part. It wasn't that difficult, all things considered."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She kept crashing into things and going right back up, so her wings kept getting dirty and that made each flight of hers slower and clumsier. I got her after she clipped a wall and spun out onto the ground."
Human Inova let out a short laugh. "Heh. She couldn't fly for long."
"Nope. By the way, Lucky's here, and he'd like to talk with you."
"He is?" Human Inova looked at the collapsed doorway. "Oh. Uh. . ."
"I'm not going to ask how an alicorn has a human in her," Lucky assured. "But I do want to know if I'm right with my guess that nopony knows the answer."
"Aunt Luna and Aunt Twilight are working on some theories."
"Noted." He jotted that bit down. "What was it that you wanted when you split up?"
"I just wanted to talk things out with them. I'm the reason we. . . I. . . Alicorn Inova was a klutz who forgot her wings and horn for so long, and couldn’t use them properly. Without me holding them back, they all moved and cast spells so easily."
"I see." Lucky took a breath in preparation for what he was about to say. "Inova, it won't take long for the news of a human being part of a Princess to catch fire, spread around the world, and bring a lot of attention to you."
"Oh no. . ." Human Inova cowered at the prospect after a few seconds of thought. "I don't want to be the reason for conflict."
"Conflict? As in war?"
"Those that want me gone will attack those that want me around, and those that want me around will fight back, and then it'll escalate until there's no neutrality left and causes every nation to fracture."
"Ah, so you're the part that reaches those kinds of crazy conclusions," Diamond flatly said. "But honestly, I think you might be right for once. Maybe. Ponies are a lot more tolerant than you seem to give them credit for, but this is pushing it. Maybe."
"And how are you so calm about my presence?"
Diamond’s answer came out easily. "You're my friend. Unexpected, but still a friend."
Cadence returned to the sight of the cocooned Human Inova hugging Diamond and crying tears of relief and happiness. Whatever words were exchanged, they had a positive impact, and that was good. "Lucky."
"Your Highness."
"You will be putting this in your inevitable article, right?"
"Of course. As a journalist, I have to report all of it."
"As you have been. Applejack would be proud of how straightforward and honest you are with it."
"Even the few bad articles about you and your family?"
"Especially those. I don't like them, but the truth is the truth, and sometimes, an outside perspective is needed to straighten things out. Thank you."
"Of course. Do you have anything you'd like to tell me before I write the story?"
Cadence went into detail on Inova's first use of the splitting spell, or what she was told of it, then what happened with Human Inova after her second use of it.
Crystal Kingdom Chaos
The Crystal Empire has seen major trouble for the first time in decades, but the sources were contained within hours of their instigation. The ultimate source was none other than Princess Inova, or rather, her equine parts.
For those who do not know, all alicorns can use a spell that lets them split into their magic parts, being a unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony. This spell is not a secret, and can be found in the Canterlot Castle or Crystal Empire libraries with ease. A unicorn casting it will get no results, and this is likely the reason it's largely unknown to the public.
After Princess Inova cast this splitting spell at home to try and talk out some inner turmoil with herself, all three equine parts ran out and used skills and abilities that Princess Inova had never shown herself capable of before.
Her unicorn part went mad with power in the crystal fields, releasing arcs of dark electricity between the crystals as she created laughing black and purple flames, all while she was weaving baskets. Princess Skyla managed to subdue her, though not without sustaining a serious shock.
Her pegasus portion displayed high speed as she flew around, but Princess Inova's lack of flight experience and aerial coordination proved to be her downfall, as she kept crashing into things. Princess Inova's friend, Diamond Heart, managed to catch and subdue her.
Finally, her earth pony piece caused the most damage. Her running and parkour leaving deep cracks, broken storefronts, and smashed carts in her wake. She was captured in a crystal block that kept her legs from moving after breaking through Prince Shining Armor's shields and injuring three Crystal Guards in her zeal.
All three of the troublemakers were brought home in chains and restrictors. Prince Shining Armor laid out their punishment: repairing the damage they had done and personally apologizing for what they did to anypony that approaches them. They were spared public humiliation by Diamond Heart's objection.
This behavior is completely out of character for Princess Inova, and is explained by an earthshaking revelation: Princess Inova, unlike the other five Princesses, has a fourth part in her: a human. Yes, the mythical magicless creature that has an odd popularity within some niche groups. Princess Inova was completely unaware of that part of herself until she learned and cast the splitting spell in Canterlot. Her second casting of it, in an attempt to talk things out with herself, resulted in chaos in the Crystal Empire.
Inova's human part was incredibly emotional and distraught over her pony parts leaving her to run amok after she tried to talk things out with them. The human part believes she was the reason Alicorn Inova had as much trouble as she did with magic, flight, and running. While emotional, scared, and not willing to talk much, she seemed to act closer to the Princess Inova known to the general public than the equine parts did.
Princess Cadence will be staying home with Human Inova to support, comfort, and help her until the equine parts, under Prince Shining Armor’s supervision, have done their punishments and she reunites herself. As such, all petitions in the Crystal Empire will be put on hold until further notice. She has requested peace and space around her home during this time, and this includes mailing anything to her and her family out of sympathy.